2021 Render Competition Received 300 Applications

We recently closed the applications for this year’s Render Competition. We received more than 300 applications from across the world, helping open the door for early-stage startups to gain access to the capital they need to thrive.

The Render Competition launched on April 1 and closed applications on May 6, with 302 startups applying to receive funding and support from the Render Capital team and our partners. Companies from any industry could apply, with the competition aiming to fund high-growth startups that are typically technology-forward and can grow quickly and significantly. Startups from any location can apply; however, winners who do not live in the Greater Louisville region must relocate their headquarters to the area. Eight businesses will win an investment of $100,000.

“This past year has been difficult for many startups as a result of the financial impact of COVID-19, and we are excited to be able to support some of them in a big way to help make their entrepreneurial vision a reality,” said Marigrace Ragsdale, Senior Associate.

Applications by the Numbers

• 302 total applications (up 58% from 2020)
• 22 different states (up 22% from 2020)
• 6 different continents (up 50% from 2020)
• 27 different countries (up 440% from 2020)
• 61% of founding teams include people of color (up 17% from 2020)
• 37% of founding teams include women (up 32% from 2020)

“Supporting people of color and female business owners is very important to Render Capital, since these groups are proven to have more difficulty accessing capital. That’s why we are proud of our open application process, which we intentionally designed for any interested startup to be able to apply,” said Patrick Henshaw, Managing Director.

The next phase of the Render Competition is the judging round. Judging started on May 24th and will continue throughout the summer, inviting top candidates to advance to subsequent rounds of review. Our community of local and national judges will narrow the initial pool of applicants into a group of 16 finalists who will compete in September for a chance to win one of the eight investments. This step would not be possible without the generous support of our volunteer judges and Render Competition sponsors, including Amplify Louisville, the Louisville Future of Work Initiative, UPS, Greater Louisville Inc., and Samtec.